The Affordable Care Act Will Impact Democratic Candidates in All Swing States this November

NEW POLL:
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WILL IMPACT DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES IN ALL SWING STATES THIS NOVEMBER

Nearly Half of Voters Say ObamaCare Will Be the Most Important or Very Important Issue for Deciding Whom to Support for Congress

WASHINGTON D.C. – New polling data released from Independent Women's Voice, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies among 1,000 likely voters in 43 congressional swing districts, is the most comprehensive survey yet on the likely electoral impact of the Affordable Care Act in swing states heading into the November elections.

If the elections were held today, the survey shows that Republican congressional candidates have a built-in advantage (42% - 36%) on the ballot test. Most prevalent in districts that lean Republication (43% - 33%), the GOP lead extends into pure toss-up seats (42% - 35%), and nearly disappears in districts that lean Democrat (40% - 39%).

Voters in key congressional districts are clear in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Disapproval of the law remains high with majority (54% - 43%) of voters in swing districts disapproving of the federal health care takeover. Strong opposition (45%) outnumbers strong support (25%) by nearly 2 to 1.

“Voters in key congressional districts are clear in their opposition to what they have felt, seen, read and heard on the health-care law. Six-in-ten respondents have been impacted by the law, overwhelmingly the effect on Americans has been negative (60% - 38%),” said IWV President and CEO Heather R. Higgins. “While negative impact is felt across all age groups, seniors (65+) overwhelmingly (70%) report being negatively impacted by ObamaCare and 85 percent of uninsured respondents said the law has been negative. So who is ObamaCare actually helping?”

Higher costs (45%) was the most frequently cited harm, followed by reduced and poor coverage and loss of doctor or limited providers. The negative impact of high costs nearly doubled that of the positive impact of access (25%).